Killing Sword Luo Ze

Pirate World, South Blue.

The azure horizon was calm and peaceful.

A faint salty scent drifted through the seawater and permeated the air above the sea.

This was one of the four seas, a region within the South Blue known as the Yelut Sea.

At that moment, a medium-sized pirate ship drifted aimlessly across the Yelut Sea.

A bloody and violent scene unfolded aboard the pirate ship...

The pirates' corpses lay scattered chaotically throughout every corner of the vessel.

They had died gruesomely. Some had lost their limbs, some had their heads cleaved in two, while others had gaping holes punched through their chests...

Crimson blood pooled across the ship's wooden deck, giving off a thick, nauseating stench.

The cabin was littered with corpses. The pungent smell of blood filled the entire room, making it a foul mess. Amid it all stood a man in black, upright and motionless.

"This makes ten..."

The man held a yellowed sheet of paper in his left hand and gripped a longsword in his right. Looking at the image on the paper, he muttered to himself.

Then, he raised his arm and sliced off the head of a corpse lying on the ground.

"Twin-Guns Bart, bounty: 7 million."

A large white sack was slung over the man's back. He held the dead man's head in his hand, compared it to the face on the wanted poster, and after making sure it was still recognizable, stuffed it into the sack.

Whoosh, whoosh.

Another head added to the haul. The sack on the man's back grew heavier, its already stuffed form bulging even further.

"Twin-Guns Bartel, bounty: 7 million."

"Greatsword Barbara, bounty: 0 million."

"Bomb Man Rikibi, bounty: 0 million."

"Great Axe Rui Mengmeng, bounty: 4 million."

"..."

The man took out a large stack of old, yellowed wanted posters and read through them one by one while calculating their worth in his head.

"Hehehe. If I hand this many pirate heads over to the Marines, I should be able to collect three or four hundred million in bounties... Once I finish my mission, I'll still have a huge sum of money left over."

The man chuckled a few times, casually stuffed the wanted posters into the sack as well, and headed outside.

Luo Ze was a transmigrator who had crossed over into the world of pirates and obtained a Swordmaster System.

Like other systems, this one issued missions from time to time. Luo Ze had to work hard to complete them in exchange for rewards that could increase his strength.

He had arrived in this pirate world two years ago. When he had first crossed over, it was the year 1516 of the Age of the Sea, four years before Luffy set sail.

He had now spent two years in this world. It was the year 1518 of the Age of the Sea, and Luffy would not set sail for another two years.

Over those two years, Luo Ze had gone from a clueless rookie to a well-known pirate hunter in the South Blue.

A large part of the reason he had become a pirate hunter was that completing the System's missions required a great deal of money. Marines were poorly paid, while pirates had to work hard to rob others. So Luo Ze chose the path of a pirate hunter.

After all, pirates had to keep searching and robbing targets one by one to seize money and treasure. Robbing pirates himself was much easier—he only needed to find a pirate crew and kill them all with the sword in his hand.

That way, not only would the treasures they had stolen fall into his hands, but after taking the wealth of pirates with bounties on their heads, he could also bring their heads to the Marines in exchange for money.

It killed two birds with one stone.

Of course, the South Blue was the strongest of the four seas. Pirates here were generally more powerful, and every one of them was exceptionally vicious. Without sufficient strength, one could easily meet disaster at any moment.

It was no simple feat for a newcomer to survive in such an environment, let alone make a name for himself.

Fortunately, Luo Ze had the System's support.

At first, the System's missions were fairly simple. He could easily complete them without even lifting a weapon, so his strength improved quickly in the early stages.

After that, he began hunting weaker small fry to further increase his strength.

Two years had now passed. Luo Ze was quite strong and had already killed several South Blue pirates with bounties of around 60 million.

"It's time to head back to Dog Town. I killed so many pirates this time—the Marines are going to bleed heavily." Luo Ze chuckled. The abundant haul put him in an excellent mood. Carrying a huge sack full of pirate heads, he jumped down onto his own ship below.

Once aboard, Luo Ze casually started the engine, and the ship began moving on its own.

This ship traveled under motor power. There was an old craftsman in Dog Town who was highly skilled at shipbuilding. Though his ships were expensive, they were all fully automated. Luo Ze himself knew nothing about navigation, and he could sail the sea only thanks to the old craftsman's motorized ship.

The long voyage began. After adjusting his direction, Luo Ze found a spot and lay down.

It was broad daylight. Luo Ze remained on the ship as the scorching sun beat down, making the heat almost unbearable. Fortunately, there was a spot on the ship that provided shade. Luo Ze lay there, enjoying the sea breeze in perfect comfort.

The sea breeze was soothing. As it blew across him, Luo Ze grew drowsy and soon fell asleep.

Who knew how long the ship had sailed across the sea when a sudden, thunderous cannon blast jolted Luo Ze awake.

"What's going on?!"

Luo Ze sprang to his feet on instinct and swiftly drew his longsword. Sunlight fell upon the blade, flashing with reflected light.

"A Marine ship?"

Luo Ze's gaze sharpened. He was puzzled—his ship was clearly not a pirate ship, nor was it particularly large. Why had these Marines suddenly opened fire on him?

Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!

While Luo Ze was still wondering, the Marines showed no intention of letting up. They aimed at his ship and viciously fired several cannonballs.

"Hmph! Damned Marines."

Luo Ze had no time to think. He quickly stepped forward, and just before the cannonballs struck the ship, he swung his sword, slicing all three shells apart in a single slash.

"Hey! Marines! I'm not a pirate! I'm a pirate hunter—Killing Sword Luo Ze!"

After cutting apart the cannonballs, Luo Ze shouted toward the warship ahead, announcing his identity.

This was not something he could drag out. One second slower, and the other side would fire again.

Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!

Yet the warship completely ignored Luo Ze's shout. It quickly trained its aim on him, several cannons firing at once as they bombarded Luo Ze without restraint.

"These damned Marines, you animals!"

Luo Ze's expression darkened completely. It seemed these Marines intended to send him to the bottom of the sea!